Adjustable mount for shrimp deveining saw



Sept. 2, 1958 CERNY ADJUSTABLE MOUNT FOR SHRIMP DEVEINING SAW Filed Jan.28, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. L (er/1y log/1's ATTORNEYS Sept. 2,1958 1.. 1.. CERNY 2,849,750

ADJUSTABLE MOUNT FOR SHRIMP DEVEINING SAW Filed Jan. 28, 1954 I 2Sheets-Sheet 2 & I

rman/ rs United States Patent ADJUSTABLENEQUNTFORFSHRMP :DEVEINING SAWApplication January, 28, 1954,; Serial No.-406 ,754

' lClaims. 01. 17-2 I T'Ilhisinventiqnmelates to improvements inan'adjustable mounting ,i and more particula'rly to 'an adjustablemountingjfior a shrimpldeveining saw.

Que of the objectsrof the present inventionris 'to'pr.0'- .vide anadjustable mountingbetween two members whereby the contact between:these members is shifted-ingresponse to a variation in the size .of oneof saidmembers.

Affurther object of the present inventionis .to pro- Vitle an apparatussuitable for deveining shrimp by -a cutting member wherein the widthof'the, shrimp controls thelocation o'f thehcutting member so "that itwill always shrimp thickness.

I Af'further Object of: the present invention is to--prtw i.'de a'shrimpdeveining machine characterized by itsstructural J simplicity andoperating efficiency while. being capableof deveining shrimp on aproduction basis not "only with I *minimum"Waste of "the edible-meattherein but'also 'with complete removal :o'fthebaek veinron each'shrimp,proc- Qssed,

*O'ther" features "of this invention reside in the-arrange- 'mentand-designofthe' partsfor carrying out-their-appro- :priate function.

1 Ether objects and advantages of this invention will be*apparentfrom-the accompanying drawings and descrip- =tionand'-theessential features will 'beset forth in-the appended'claims.

' the drawings,

Fig. l-is-a partial top plan view-of the shrimp deveint appa si Fig. isan enlarged, vertical sectional view thereof "taken a'long theline fFig.'1-;-while fEig. "3 is a vertical circumferential sectional view througha-portion thereof taken along the line '-3--3'of Fig. 2.

*Whfile this inyention'mig'ht beadapted tovarious types :of machines andused' for various purposes, I-have chosen to show the same as 'applied-to theshrimp deveining portion *of {the machine disclosed inthe U. S.Patent No. 2;683g2-81issued July 13, "1 954, and based on -copending'iU.S. 'patentapplication, Serial No. 139,862, =filed1 January '21, "1950 byAlbert B. Yanus andLouis L. @erny and entitled *Shrimp Deveining andDeshelling Machine. However, itshouldrbe 'clearlyunderstoodthatthisinvention may beused to process workpiece memb'ers of-ther-'formsin-addition tothe shrimp "being deve'ined' as dis'closedherein.

' The apparatu's-in the presentapplication operates bas- "ic ally in thesame manner as that in thesaidpatent as "to the cleaning of *shr-ir'np"except as to the *deveini-ng -coi1structions-dseribed hereinafterand'difiering from the corresponding construction in said patent. 'Thepresent a-pparatus makes :it possible i to move the -deveining sa-wvertically in response to the-shrimp t hickness (heightin Fig. sothat-the-saw alwaysali-gns with the back vein -extending along thedorsalside of the shrimp and located centrally thereofyso as to cutthesame cleanly-fromthe -"shrimpregardless of the s'ize'of the shrimp.

align with the shrimp vein regardless of'the variation in or ce 2 Thecommon-structure in the present application and ;in said patent will bebriefly described. It should also "be noticed that Fig. 2 in the presentapplication corresponds to Fig. 5i in saidcopending application. 5 'Alocating -means is provided to hold each shrimp .,or

other workpiece member inposition for the sawing thereof. This takestheform'of a rotatably mounted table :having a series of individualclamps '11 secured to and spacedaround-the table near-its outerperipherywith each 10 "clamp adapted to "receive, locate and securely hold one-workpiece-member or shrimp. A cutting member is provided fordeveining'the shrimp or cutting the workpiece member by 7 making contact-'therewith. This takes-the form -of'a rotatable saw 14 15 -rotatablydriven'by-an electric motor =l5'lrotata'bly jdriv- -ing a'shaftlGsecured atone end toithis saw l4.

The-tablel0 alongwith the shrimpor workpiece:.mem Ibers carried therebyare movable: past the cutting .device "'14. Themountingmeans forpermitting this relative rotation' includes --a--station arypost 29having a radially ex- -tending-arm 21 supporting the saw motor '15. 'Thetable {10 is *rotatably mounted on the stationary .post 20 andaisrotatably driven *by a worm 23 meshed with and rotatably'driving-awormwbeel 24. Hence, when eachshrirnp 25 'is secured' in'its clamp 11with the portion of its shell enclosing 'the vein facing outwardly withits length extending circumferentially along "the'table -10, therota-*tionof the ta-ble-1zil-wiilmove the shrimp and their veins pastthe-rotating saw 14-so that the full length of each sthvein 'will becut-out as the sawmovesalqngthe full "length dimension of the shrimp.Although the table moves relative -to the "rotational axis of the saw'14, it 'should'be understo-odthat either maybe stationary while tlieother moves, or'bothmay'move-as long as one moves -relative to theother.

Although any suitablelocating or clamping meansican be used on table-10,theclamp 11 is disclosed herein. A plurality of shrimp clamps 11 arecircumferentially spaeedaround-theouter circular edgeof the table10 by"-liaving the*lower 'clamp-plate'fit) in'Fig. 2 of each clamp securedtoan annular surface '10:: on the vtop oi the Hrotatable table 10. Thisclamp plate 30is so arranged. 'thatthe shrimp is adaptedto beplacedwiththe tailtat the leading edge and-the bodyportion toward the trail-"ing edge and thevein will then'be held substantiallylhori- 'zo-ntal.Suitable sto-p members can beprovide'd upstanding from the plate 30 soas to position the thinnerportion, or second joint, of theshrimpbetweemtheibody and'thetail against this stop portion inthe samemanner as described in more ,detail in said copending patentapplication. In each shrimp clamp 11, a movable clamp --plate 31 isprovidedto engage the upper side of the shrimp body andwedge itagainsttthe'lower clamp plate 30. This movable clamp plate,31 has a,pair o f arms 32 extending radially inwardlyand pivotally mounted ,atpivot 33 in ,a bracket 3.4 extending upwardly frorn and 'secured totable '10. A conical shaped .coil spring ,35 located between the movableclamp plate '31 and the tablefl'tl'biasesthis plate'3l upwardly into theopen posi- 'tion. ,'A lock pin 36 is pivotally mounted to plate 31 "atpivqt'37. *Belowtable 1'0, thera'diallyoutermostjace of lock pin 3364sprovided with a' series of finerachet teeth 38 adapted to engage againsta retaining plate 39 'securedton thehunder side of 'tablel't). :Theteeth 38 are 'n0rmally'urge'd'toward the "retaining plate 39 by meansof-a coil spring 40 which. isheldflbetweenthenpper ,end off'lock'pin736and a bracket ,41 upstandingjrom movable clamp plate 31.

Hence,,twl1en;the movable clamp plate 31- is clamped down"upon theshrimp, one Of the rachet teeth 38 will engage-theretaining.plate"39tohold'the movable clamp I plate =-3l in clampingposition. A"stop 42 on lock pin 36 is adapted to engage the underside oftable so as to limit the upward movement of the movable clamp plate 31under the influence of spring 35.

After the shrimp has been properly located on its shrimp clamp 11, theclamp plates 30 and 31 may be closed thereon by moving the movable clampplate 31 downwardly either manually or automatically by power.

The present invention has several features not disclosed in saidcopending application.

Means is provided for changing the vertical height of the saw 14 so thatit will always align with the shrimp vein at each shrimp clamp 11regardless of the variations in the size and thickness of the shrimplocated on the different shrimp clamps 11. The saw drive motor 15 is notdirectly fixed to the arm 21 but instead is mounted on a movable supportmember comprising side pieces 50, 50 in Fig. 2 of generally invertedL-shape joined at their upper left end by a crossbar 51 and atvertically elongated slots 21a and a cutout 21b in the arm 21 to assuresuflicient vertical movement of the movable support member. The pivotalaxis of these bolts 53 and 54 are parallel.

This movable support member, along with motor 15 and saw 14 are causedto shift vertically by a coacting follower roller 55, rotatablyconnected to the top of lock pin 36, coacting with the lower surface ofconnecting plate 52, which acts as a cam surface when coacting with saidroller. Hence, the cam, when of proper contour, and follower causeupward vertical movement to the saw 14 while gravity tends to bias thecam surface 52 down against the follower roller 55. Of course, theleading and trailing edges of the cam surface 52 are suitably beveled tocapture the follower roller 55 thereunder and to cause smooth operation.

This vertical shifting movement of the saw 14 is responsive to thethickness of the shrimp since the follower roller 55 is operativelyconnected to the movable clamp plate or jaw 31 through the lock pin 36and pivot 37. Since the lever arm in Fig. 2 from pivot 53 to the contactbetween the cam surface 52 and the follower roller 55 is approximatelytwice the length of the lever arm between pivots 53 and 54, the verticalshift of the saw 14 is approximately one-half the change or variation inthe height of the movable clamp plate 31 as determined by the thicknessdimension of the shrimp. Since the shrimp vein is always along themiddle of the shrimp and is centered as to the thickness dimensionthereof, this shifting means will always keep the saw 14 aligned withthe vein regardless of the size or thickness variations of the differentshrimps being deveined. Each shrimp individually controls the height ofthe saw 14 during its deveining operation so that the saw will beproperly aligned with its vein.

In the present disclosure, the saw shifting means, as described indetail in the previous paragraphs, takes the form wherein the saw typecutting member 14 is the one shifted vertically into a new cutting pathrelative to the rotating table member 10 and shrimp clamp member 11 withthe shift being responsive to the thickness of the workpiece member orshrimp member held in said clamp. The saw 14 has moved along thethickness dimension of the shrimp member during this vertical shift soas to keep the saw 14 aligned with the center of the shrimp thicknessduring the rotation of the table 10 relative to the generally fixed sawmotor 15 regardless of the variations in the thickness of the shrimp. Ofcourse, this invention includes in addition to the preferred embodimentdescribed herebefore other suitable variations in structure comingwithin the broad scope of the invention. For example, the table member10 and shrimp lo eating clamp member 11 may shift vertically relative tothe saw member 14 along the width dimension of the shrimp'and/or theshrimp clamp 11 may remain relatively stationary as to movement in ahorizontal plane while saw member 14 moves along the length of theshrimp for causing relative movement therebetween instead of having thetable member 10 rotate about its central, vertical axis. As to thislatter movement along the length of the shrimp in a horizontal plane,relative movement therebetween can be obtained by having the axis ofrotation of the saw member and having the shrimp clamp member 11 soconnected that either one is stationary while the other moves or bothmove but have a relative speed therebetween.

The saw 14 is constructed to saw into the meat of the shrimp inrelationship with the vein therein so that the vein will, or can, easilybe removed. Also, the saw includes spaced collars 14a in Fig. 2 in amounting adaptor for securing the saw to the motor shaft 16. Thesecollars 14a have a smooth, round, cylindrical contour coaxial with theaxis of rotation so that as the saw is biased horizontally into theworkpiece member or shrimp, the collars 14a will follow the contour ofthe shrimp shell and control the depth of cut. The saw member 14 isbiased or urged into cutting engagement by having the pivot pin 54located radially inwardly toward the axis of rotation of table it (aboutpost 20 in Fig. 1) from a vertical line through the center of gravity ofthe cutting member including motor 15, shaft 16, saw 14, etc. swingingabout pivot 54.

The saw 14 is properly counterbalanced with respect to all of thesemovements so that the deveining action can take place easily and rapidlyduring high speed operation of the machine. The weight of the movablemembers on the distal end of arm 21 is approximately counterbalanced toobtain these desirable results. As to the movement in the horizontalplane for controlling the cutting depth of the saw 14, the pivot 54 islocated radially inwardly from the vertical line of action through thecenter of gravity of the cutting members carried thereby with the posts60, 60 secured to the upper end of the motor 15 and extending upwardlythrough the cut-out 21b in the fixed arm 21 at the top of which posts issecured a crossbar 61 carrying appropriate counterbalancing weights 62,63 in adjustment notches 61a in the upper surface of said crossbar. Asto the vertical movement wherein the saw 14 is shifted vertically tofollow the shrimp width, a spring counterbalance is provided. Lugs 65,65 are secured to and project from the right end of the respective sidepieces 50, 50 with the distal end of each lug connected by a spring 66to another lug 67 secured to the fixed arm 21 so as to counterbalance tosome degree the gravitational weight of the cutting member motor, etc.It should be also noted that the pivot 54 and the remaining parts of thestructure help keep the saw 14 generally horizontal for the propercutting action in spite of the fact that the vertical shift is generallyan arcuate swing about the pivot 53.

Each of these movements has a limit stop. A post 70 is secured to thelower surface of the arm 21 by screws 71 projecting downwardlytherefrom. An adjustment screw 73 is screwed into a threaded hole at thelower end of this post 70 with its left end adapted to contact thesurface of the motor housing 15 to prevent the saw 14 from swinginginwardly between the clamp jaws 30 and 31 beyond the desired stoppingplace and thereby damaging the saw, the shrimp locating surface, orother parts of the shrimp clamp 11.

The vertical shifting movement is controlled by having limit stops onboth the upper and lower ends of its movement. A plate is secured to theupper surface of cam plate 52 and between side plates 50, 50. It has asuitable vertically elongated slot80atoxpermit relative movement withrespect to the previously described-stop screw 73. The top of this post8.0 in-Fig. 3 is located some distance below the fixed arm 21 andis-also located between the side pieces 50,- 50 with which it moves. Theupperlimit stop for the upward shift takes the form of a screw 81 inFig. 3 screwed into a threaded hole in fixed arm 21 with its lower endloosely contacting .as a stop: the upper surface of plate 80. The lowerlimitstop takes thetierm of two screws 82,,82 in Fig. 3 telescopedloosely inholes 21d, 210! in the fixed arm 21 with their threads screwedinto the threaded holes in the top of plate 80 so that the heads of thescrew bolts 82, 82 engage against the top surface of the fixed arm 21 tolimit the downward movement.

The pivotally mounted movable support member for the motor 15 can beadjusted laterally with respect to the stationary arm 21. In Fig. 3,plates 85, 85 are suitably secured by spaced screws 86, 86 in Figs. 2and 3 to the side walls of the fixed arm 21. Adjustment studs 87, 87 arescrewed into threaded holes in the straddling side pieces 50, 50 withthe inner ends of said studs slidably bearing against the outer surfacesof plates 85, 85 and locked in this position by lock nuts 88, 88. Plates85 can be of hardened construction to serve as wear plates.

A pusher device 90 may be provided for pushing a shrimp from table toanother table when the point of tangency is reached as disclosed in thecopending U. S. patent application, Serial No. 384,232, now Patent No.2,789,309, issued April 23, 1957, entitled Shrimp Clamp filed by myselfand Albert B. Yanus. Pusher plate 91 on device 90 may serve as thepreviously mentioned stop member for positioning the shrimp in clamp 11.

Although the preferred construction is herein disclosed as beingspecially adapted for deveining shrimps, it should be clearly understoodthat this invention, in its broadest aspects, is capable of other useswherein the point of contact between the members is controlled by therelative width of the workpiece member. Suitable uses might be marking,sawing, cutting or otherwise processing desired workpiece members.

Various changes in details and arrangement of parts can be made by oneskilled in the art without departing from either the spirit of thisinvention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus adapted for deveining shrimp, a locating means adaptedto position a shrimp or other workpiece member, a cutting member fordeveining said shrimp or cutting said workpiece member, said cuttingmember and locating means being mounted so that one moves relative tothe other along the length of said workpiece member, means responsive tothe thickness of said workpiece member for shifting at least one of saidmembers to move said cutting member along the width of said workpiecemember to keep the cutting member aligned with approximately the centerof said width during said relative movement regardless of the variationsin width of said workpiece member, means operableindependently of saidshifting means for urging said members together into cutting engagement,and means operatively connecting said locating means, said cuttingmember, said thickness responsive means and said urging means.

2. An apparatus adapted for deveining shrimp, a locating means adaptedto position a shrimp or other workpiece member, a cutting member fordeveining said shrimp or cutting said workpiece member, said cuttingmember and locating means being mounted so that one moves relative tothe other along the length of said workpiece member, means responsive tothe thickness of said workpiece member for shifting at least one of saidmembers to move said cutting member along the width of ,said workpiecemember to keep the cutting member aligned with the center of said widthduring said relative movement regardless of the variations in width ofsaid *wonkpiece member, :said 'cutting member being the one shifted andurged rintoxa new path of relative movement, said cutting memberincluding a saw and a motor driving said saw, oounterbalancemeans toapproximately balance the .aveight :of said cuttizug member so that theshifting and urging ,cantake placeeasily and rapidly daring high speed:operation, and means operatively connectingwsaidlocating means,- saidcut-ting member, said counterbalance means and said thickness responsivemeans.

3. An apparatus,-comprising an.arm,..a movablesupport member pivotallyconnected to said arm for movement about a horizontal axis, a motordriven saw pivotally mounted on said support member on an axis parallelto said first named axis and having a center of gravity located to oneside of said pivotal mounting so that the saw always maintainsapproximately the same tilt with the horizontal, and an actuatingportion on said support member adapted to be moved so as to swing saidsupport member about said first mentioned pivot, the distance from saidfirst mentioned pivot to said actuating portion being in predeterminedratio to the distance between said pivots.

4. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said predeterminedratio of said recited distances is approximately 2:1 with said firstmentioned pivot and actuating portion being on opposite sides of thevertical action line through the center of gravity.

5. In combination, a first member adapted to contact sequentiallyindividual workpieces in a series of aligned workpieces forming a secondmember, mounting means for operatively connecting said members formovement one relative to the other along one dimension of said alignedworkpiece members while said first member is urged into sequentialengagement with each of said workpieces during said movement, saidmounting means including means for shifting one of said members adistance relative to the other along a second dimension of the engagedworkpiece angularly disposed with respect to said first dimension withsaid shifting means being responsive to said second dimension of saidengaged workpiece and with said distance being always equal toapproximately one-half the change in said second dimension of theengaged workpiece, and means operatively connecting said first member,said mounting means and said shifting means of said mounting means,whereby said contacting engagement of each workpiece will occur in themiddle of the second dimension even though the workpieces may vary insize in the second dimensions.

6. An apparatus adapted for deveining shrimp, 2. locating means adaptedto position a shrimp or other workpiece member, a cutting member fordeveining said shrimp or cutting said workpiece member, said cuttingmember and locating means being mounted so that one moves relative tothe other along the length of said workpiece member, means responsive tothe thickness of said workpiece member for shifting at least one of saidmembers to move said cutting member along the width of said workpiecemember to keep the cutting member aligned with approximately the centerof said width during said relative movement regardless of the variationsin width of said workpiece member, and means operatively connecting saidlocating means, said cutting member and said thickness responsive means,said locating means having a generally planar surface against which saidshrimp or workpiece member rests, said thickness responsive meansincluding means directly responsive to the distance measuredperpendicularly from said planar surface for moving said cutting memberonly one-half the change in said distance.

7. In combination, a first member adapted to contact a workpiece member,mounting means for operatively connecting said members for movement onerelative to the other along one dimension of said workpiece member whilesaid members are urged into contacting engage- 2? ment, said mountingmeans including means for shifting one of said members a distancerelative to the other along a second dimension of said workpiece memberangularly disposed with respect to said first dimension with saidshifting means being responsive to said second dimension and with saiddistance being always equal to approximately a predeterminedproportionate amount of the change in said second dimension, saidmounting means including urging means for urging said members intocontact independently of said shifting means, and means operativelyconnecting said first member, said mounting means, said shifting meansand urging means of said mounting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS898,289 Voorhies Sept. 8, 1908 2,393,617 DeSpain Ian. 29, 1946 2,568,947Carroll Sept. 25, 1951' 2,599,712 Izen June 10, 1952 2,683,281 Yanus eta1 July 13, 1954

